Is this not the perfect place for a Stag party? Craft-beer fans under age 30 probably won’t get that reference. The old Stag Brewery, the last to brew in Belleville, Illinois, closed in 1988—at a time when the word “microbrewery” wasn’t a common term. The only available stout came from across the ocean, and even the most seasoned American beer drinker hadn’t yet heard of a saison.
Yet the town’s suds saga is nearly 200 years old. Beer has been commercially brewed there since 1832; at one point in the mid-19th century, the burg was home to no fewer than seven breweries. With this history as backdrop, 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. opened earlier this year. The brewmaster is Tony Toenjes, who previously extended the repertoire of Excel Bottling Company in Breese, Illinois, from its historic line of real-sugar sodas to an eclectic selection of craft beers.
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The menu at Main Street meanders: Bar food like nachos, pretzel bites, and chicken fingers is juxtaposed with such novelties as an espresso burger and a barley-risotto–cake sandwich, as well as 45-day-aged steaks. You can also order a personal-size flatbread pizza—perhaps one topped with pickled Peppadew peppers, one of the brewpub’s self-proclaimed signature dishes.
Roasted pumpkin seeds add a similar combination of visuals and flavor to a salmon fillet. An accompanying wedge of fried polenta shows off a vibrant pink-red interior when sliced, a result of the addition of red pepper. Roasted cauliflower fills out the dish, though the plate’s appearance would have taken on a greater depth had the promised multicolored cauliflower been served, instead of the plain white kind.
If our strip steak was any indication, the steaks here are a good value; they’re properly tender, well-trimmed, and cooked to the requested degree of doneness. And they’re generally below the $20 threshold. Beet-horseradish sauce is listed as another of the restaurant’s signature items, appropriate since more than half of the world’s horseradish is said to be grown in neighboring Collinsville, Illinois. That said, my personal preference would have been for more pure horseradish and less creaminess.
A similar creamy horseradish sauce is a more appropriate accompaniment for an appetizer of nine lightly battered fried green tomatoes. The traditional pub dish of fish and chips also makes an appearance among the appetizers, its two thick rectangles of cod in a lager batter, served with a house-made tartar sauce.
On the beer side, a sampler of four 4-ounce glasses is $7. The amber lager is an ideal gateway beer for macrobrewery fans; at the other extreme are a dunkelweizen, redolent of cloves and banana, and a spicy, slightly tart saison. In between are regular and black IPAs, a California common rye emulating Anchor Steam beer, a chocolate stout, and several other beers.
The building looks something like a Colorado mill from the outside. Owner Todd Kennedy says he built almost every fixture inside. While the St. Louis area has an unsurpassed brewing heritage, new spots like 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. ensure a bright future.
The Bottom Line: Good beer’s brewed a few feet from your table. An inviting atmosphere and above-average pub grub combine for a great night out.
4204 W. Main
Belleville, Ill.
618-416-7261
Lunch and dinner daily
Average Main Course: $16
Reservations: They’re not usually necessary.
Acoustics: The atmosphere is amenable to conversation.
